Authors: Amy Wang, Remote Mission Coordinator, UMIC; Chris Yuan, Founder, UMIC Contributor: Calla Raats, Transformational Leader and Educator Exploring a New Model for Future Space Missions What happens when students and researchers on opposite sides of the world work together to operate a simulated lunar habitat? In a recent multinational mission simulation, teams in China and Australia collaborated remotely to test the operation of the UMIC (Underwater Modular Interplanetary Community) Lunar Farm. The project explored how future lunar and Martian settlements might be managed through a combination of life support systems, robotics, and remote mission control. The experiment formed part of the Space Mission Commons initiative, an effort to investigate how small, distributed research facilities can contribute to a global network of space mission simulations and educational opportunities.  Researchers and students collaborated across continents through real-time video communications during the remote mission simulation. A Lunar Habitat in the Heart of a City Most lunar and planetary analogue stations are located in remote deserts, volcanic regions, or polar environments. While these locations provide realistic terrain, they are often expensive to operate and difficult to access.The UMIC Underwater Lunar Farm takes a different approach. Located within an urban environment in China, the facility is designed to support remote access and operation while simulating key aspects of a future extraterrestrial habitat. At its core is an intelligent biosphere system intended to explore how self-sustaining communities might function beyond Earth. The project focuses on three primary research areas:
 The UMIC Underwater Lunar Farm provides a unique urban testbed for future space habitat research and remote mission operations. Inside the UMIC Lunar Farm The facility is surrounded by approximately 800 litres of water and incorporates several interconnected systems designed to simulate aspects of a lunar settlement. These include:
Unlike traditional analogue habitats, UMIC's urban location allows researchers and students to participate remotely, creating opportunities for international collaboration without requiring travel to isolated locations.  The UMIC facility combines biological systems, robotics, and habitat technologies within a compact urban analogue environment. Connecting Australia and China The remote mission linked teams in Chengdu, China, and Sydney, Australia. Conducted in collaboration between UMIC and Thomas Hassall Anglican College, the experiment combined scientific research with educational engagement. Students and researchers worked together to simulate the type of multinational coordination that may become routine during future lunar and Martian missions. The mission lasted approximately 80 minutes and centred on operating a miniature robotic vehicle designed to simulate a lunar rover navigating complex terrain. During the exercise, I served as the remote mission coordinator and bilingual communications bridge between the two teams. My responsibilities included:
 Amy Wang coordinates the multinational mission from a remote command station, acting as both mission controller and communications bridge between teams in China and Australia. The Challenges of Remote Space Operations As with any space mission simulation, the exercise presented a number of technical and operational challenges. These included:
In complex missions, humans increasingly function as supervisors of automated systems rather than direct operators. This requires effective management of information flow, decision-making, and error detection while maintaining situational awareness across multiple systems. The experiment provided valuable insight into how these skills may be applied in future extraterrestrial habitats. Observing a Closed-Loop Life Support System A key component of the mission involved observing the behaviour of the facility's life support systems. Students monitored environmental conditions and the stability of the lunar farm's miniature ecological cycle. Such observations are important because future settlements on the Moon or Mars will rely heavily on closed-loop systems capable of recycling resources and supporting long-term habitation. The UMIC Lunar Farm provides a practical platform for investigating how these systems can operate sustainably within controlled environments.  An unexpected crew member explores the UMIC habitat during testing of its enclosed ecosystem. A New Approach to Space Education One of the most significant outcomes of the project is its educational potential. Many analogue astronaut programmes require specialised facilities and substantial funding, limiting participation opportunities. By contrast, the UMIC model allows students to engage in meaningful space mission simulations through remote access. This approach offers several advantages:
As space exploration becomes increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence and automation, future mission operators may spend less time directly controlling equipment and more time supervising intelligent systems. Projects such as UMIC provide an early glimpse into that future. Driving a Lunar Rover From Thousands of Kilometres Away One of the most engaging aspects of the mission involved remotely operating a miniature robotic vehicle designed to simulate a lunar rover. Participants navigated the rover across a model lunar landscape, carrying out inspection and exploration tasks while dealing with communication delays and operational constraints similar to those expected during future planetary missions. The exercise highlighted the importance of human-machine collaboration and demonstrated how robotic systems can extend human capabilities in remote and challenging environments.  A miniature rover navigates a simulated lunar surface as participants conduct remote exploration and inspection tasks. Towards a Global Space Mission Commons According to UMIC founder Chris Yuan, the long-term vision extends beyond a single analogue habitat. Traditional lunar simulation facilities successfully recreate physical environments but often face limitations due to cost, location, and operational complexity. The UMIC concept instead focuses on creating a distributed network of interconnected experimental facilities. Future space missions are expected to depend heavily on three forms of collaboration:
Under this model, an underwater laboratory, cave habitat, urban biosphere, or other analogue environment could become part of a shared global infrastructure for space research and education. As advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and telecommunications continue, such distributed networks may become an important component of future space exploration programmes. Student Participation and International Collaboration Students from Thomas Hassall Anglican College played an active role in the mission. Working alongside the Chinese team, participants remotely operated robotic systems, navigated simulated lunar terrain, and experienced many of the challenges associated with real-world mission coordination. Throughout the exercise they encountered communication delays, software issues, and language barriers while managing multiple robots and monitoring several systems simultaneously. The mission provided a valuable opportunity to experience the complexities of modern space operations while working within a genuinely international team.  Participants remotely operated a miniature rover across a simulated lunar landscape during the multinational mission exercise. Watch the Mission in Action The short video below provides a glimpse of the multinational remote mission, including the UMIC Lunar Farm facility, rover operations, and collaboration between participants in China and Australia. Looking Ahead Although modest in scale, the experiment demonstrated an exciting possibility for the future of space research and education. Rather than relying solely on a small number of remote analogue stations, future investigations may be conducted through interconnected networks of urban facilities linked by remote communications and shared mission objectives. The Space Mission Commons project offers a glimpse of how that future might look: collaborative, distributed, accessible, and global. As humanity prepares for sustained operations on the Moon and eventually Mars, experiments such as these help explore not only the technologies required, but also the ways people, machines, and communities may work together beyond Earth. © All images/video courtesy of Authors
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